Fiery White Christmas
by aLittleOblivion
Summary: To give the one he loves a small token, Gray Fullbuster puts his heart on the line in the hope as the snow falls that just once fire and ice could be one.


Disclaimer: I know it, you know it, but hey, let's say it any way. I do not own any rights or even the smallest piece of Fairy Tail. Let's just take a moment and thank the great Hiro Mashima, without whom we wouldn't have such a fun story and I wouldn't have the chance to try my own writer's hand in a Fairy Tail tale.

Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday. Enjoy the time you have with the ones you love.

* * *

The scribbling of the metal tipped quill scratched across the blank breath of the parchment. Glistening white snow drifted down the windless winter night, falling softly over the small town of Magnolia.

Gray looked up to the sky, smiling, welcoming the cold touch of the night sky. Even with the snow fronts dancing down upon him, Gray could just make out the twinkling of the heavenly lights high above, watching ever over him – a silent guardian - but out of reach, pure. Frost wavered, coalescing above him, sheltering his board and paper from the touch of the white snow. The icemake wizard leaned back against his chimney, content with the winter night, enjoying its soft embrace upon his roof. Somewhere along the way up there his shirt had vanished, though it didn't matter much. It just meant he was closer to the element he loved. The perfect setting to express that love for the one person in this world who he could actually use that term for.

Dipping the metal tip back into the inkwell, Gray set to work with a light poet's hand. With sweeping calligraphy, his soul spilled, washing over the paper. As his words worked, Gray let his mind wander, thinking over all the time he had known that flame-for-brains idiot. The idiot who had managed without even knowing it to capture his heart and seal it away tight under lock and key. His beaming white toothy grin shone in his head among the dark sky and shining stars.

Tilting his pale face to the falling snow, Gray drifted back along every mission, every day. When it all started, a fiery brat who needed to be put in his place, Gray was all-to-happy to be the one to accomplish that feat. The rivalry that ensued was the first link he had ever felt with another after Ur. And even now, he had his entire Fairy Tail family whom he cared for beyond any constraints. He would give his life, throw himself into the darkest terror for any one of them. But that pink-haired, squinty-eyed idiot was the only one for whom his heart beat.

Ever since Galuna Island, Gray had felt himself tugged away. He felt like he was the edge of the beach being swept away with each passing tide. Gray held his palm open, watching the flakes of pure white beauty collect on his cold skin.

He had been cold up unto that day. Everything he was, his whole existence, was ice. And he had been set upon giving form to that ice. The ice shell. Years had passed since that day, but the small flame lit like a wick in his heart with the pure emotion of Natsu Dragneel burned still.

That may be the most endearing thing about that idiot. Dangerous beyond compare, growing more powerful every single day, and with the brain of, well, maybe Gray had finally caught the stupid from that man. But he didn't hide. He never backed down from a fight, but more than that, he never hid himself. Everyone, Gray had found, puts up a mask. That mask is a way above all else to protect themselves, a way to hide away their true being and exist with others. It would inevitably change as their surroundings did. But not Natsu. His emotions, his love, they were all at the surface just as the flames licking over his tanned skin.

The fire he had lit was slowly melting away the man Gray had become, the mask he had worn. Looking back to the paper and in his finest handwriting, Gray said all that he could never say.

But, his name he left off. This whole scheme had been concocted to give Natsu the gift he wanted, but to keep it under the shroud of anonymity. Maybe he was a coward, but it was a step. That, at least, was the way Gray had come to rationalize his behavior. Everything, he promised himself, would be one step closer to confessing to Natsu. If he took it in small increments, he hoped that the rejection at the end would hurt less. For Gray obviously knew where the path led. There was no way the fire dragon slayer felt the same, and beside that, he was undoubtedly going to wind up with either Lisanna or Lucy. Hell, Cana even had a running bet as to which of the two girls it would end up being.

The only real shocker was that Natsu had never really made any move. Years, and the fire mage kept to himself. It was just his shyness, and most likely his childlike innocence, Gray figured, that kept him from taking one of them. That at least had given Gray the small comfort he held onto with a death grip. If Natsu never dated, there would always be a small ray of hope that couldn't be squelched. But at the same time, Gray sighed before blowing the ink dry on the parchment; it had left him open, vulnerable, to the gut-wrenching pain of being so close to the person he loved but unable to reach him.

And so, the small steps.

Carefully sheltering the paper from the wet embrace of the snow, Gray shimmied off of the roof and threw himself back into his apartment through an open window. At his desk, he gingerly folded the paper and slid it into an envelope. On its canvas he penned:

 _Natsu_

Gently he laid it to bed at the bottom of a small velvet rouge box. An ice key formed between his fingers which he slid into his desk drawer, twisting it and eliciting a small click. The drawer was bare but for a single item behind the only lock he had closed in his entire apartment.

Gray drew out the box from the drawer, carefully laying it down upon the desk. He smiled warmly at the glass globe he pulled out from the box. A lone dancing ball of flame wiggled joyfully at its center. This was something he had come across on one of their missions. It had cost him almost his entire share of the reward of that particular quest, but it was perfect. An eternal flame.

Imbued by hidden magic circles and drawn from the lacrima crystalline ball, that flame would shine brilliantly forever. Gray had a hell of a time keeping it hidden the rest of the journey back home. Twice he caught Natsu staring oddly at his pack. The damn idiot had a bloodhound's nose for a fire.

But, this particular globe was unique. He had been working with Levi for the past month, pouring his magic into the lacrima bit by bit every day. It was something that couldn't be rushed, according to the smartest person he knew. The process required a patience he had luckily grown accustomed to as he grew as calm as the falling snow outside. Staring at the clear globe in his palms, Gray tapped into his magic, releasing a very finely controlled flow of energy out of his heart.

This was the last day. That thought alone was enough to cause his palms to sweat underneath the cool surface of the crystal. This was the last day, according to Levi. It would either be complete, taking on a new life, melding ice and fire in a small contained world all their own . . . or it would shatter, blown to pieces from the rejection of the two opposites.

Trying to calm his racing mind, he clamped down on his magic, carefully threading the ice through his fingertips, seamlessly transitioning into the glass wall of the globe. An hour passed while the snow fell down in the black sky out his window. The icemake wizard sat alone, at his desk, intent on the fire in his hands.

Finally he took a deep breath to steady himself and cut off the trickle of his magic. The globe rested in his hands remarkably unchanged. Nothing about it seemed different. Gray frowned, peering into the world inside the crystal. It didn't work. The irritation lanced through the stoic man but more than that the disappointment squeezed his heart. He wanted it to be perfect, but the flame had utterly rejected his cold soul.

Tomorrow was Christmas Eve.

There was no chance to try again. At least the globe didn't shatter like Levi had foretold. It was stuck in silent ambivalence. "That figures," Gray mumbled wrapping it carefully in a satin cloth. He placed it into the box to rest atop the envelope and wrapped it in a shining brilliantly red paper.

The disappointment palpable in the air around the wizard, he laid the box in the drawer, locking it before stumbling to his bed, drained from the focus and magic strain that hour had tolled on him.

The next morning the sun was shining, setting the snow-blanketed world in a reflective wonderland, almost unbearably bright. Gray squinted at the intense shine coming off of the ice layer over the street. Tucking the bright red box inside his jacket he made for the guild hall. The green haired man wasn't there but luckily Mirajane pointed Gray along.

The icemake wizard scanned the doorway warily. How long had he known Freed? He never once thought about where that guy lived. It was remarkably plain, stuccoed white walls next to off-tone molding framing a simple wooden door. Picking up the gold lightning bolt at eye-height, Gray slammed the knocker down.

The door flew open almost at the exact moment the knocker hit. Gray blinked, smiling awkwardly in the open doorframe.

Freed, his long green hair in complete disarray looked at the naked icemake wizard, blinking repeatedly before managing to form words with his tongue. "Wha- Your clothes, Gray."

The raven-haired man immediately looked down only to find his bare skin and a box of bright shining red clutched in his palm. He shook his head. "I need your help." And without waiting, stepped past his guildmate and into his home.

"Come on in?" Freed scratched his frizzed disheveled hair, staring at the wall for a moment before he collected his thoughts together enough to close the door. But then his gaze darted back to his kitchen table and panic leaped into his eyes. Throwing himself past the naked Fairy Tail stripper, Freed clutched at the tablecloth strewn on the ground and threw it over the table. Laxus' gift! No one could see it!

"Listen, I need you to put one of your ecriture's on this." Gray proffered up the red box, holding it as carefully as a newborn.

"What?"

"I, uhh, need it to where Natsu can't open this until tomorrow night."

Picking a shirt out of his tidy closet, Freed threw it along with a pair of pants at the stripper. "It's going to take a second, put some pants on."

The blue-eyed boy shrugged on the clothes, muttering a thanks as he handed over the box.

"Natsu, huh?"

Gray just stared at the wall and nodded.

The green haired wizard smirked, running a hand back, attempting to pat down his chaotically strewn locks. "Finally making a move?"

The blush across Gray's face was instantaneous, just as the incredulous look that sparked across his steel blue eyes as they locked onto the swordsman. "W-what?"

Freed just shrugged, the smirk still playing across his lips. "I've always known. Not hard to see the way you look at him. I'm sure practically the whole guild knows."

"What!?"

"Oh, relax," Freed dropped into his couch with a huff.

Gray swallowed hard. He crashed into the couch beside Freed. "Does Na—"

"Does Natsu know?" Freed scoffed, waving his free hand through the air. "Unless someone spelled it out to him in food, I'd have to say no."

Freed was different, Gray came to realize. Completely different than he had pictured him. He guessed that away from the guild, relaxed, this was a guy he could actually get along with. "And you don't find it . . . disgusting?"

"What, because you're both guys?" This time Freed's laughter boomed through his small apartment. "It would be a big problem for me if I thought being gay was gross."

"Wait, you?" The icemake wizard's spine snapped straight. He looked at Freed intensely. "You? Are you . . ." And then a smug face flashed across his mind and he blinked dumbly. "Laxus?"

Freed just blushed, his silken skin turning a bright rosy pink at the cheeks as he set to work enchanting the red gift box with his dark ecriture. He offered it to Gray after a few minutes. "There you go, he won't be able to open it until 10pm Christmas night. Now if you don't mind," Freed forced the box into Gray's chest, "I'm working on something."

"Thanks."

"Good luck."

And the door slammed in a hurry, separating the two.

His mind still reeling with that information, Gray stumbled through town. It made sense, the way they were always so close. And the way Freed went after Laxus. Holding his face in a palm, he shook his head. How blind was he? Practically every time Laxus spoke or someone even said his name, Freed's cheeks would be noticeably bright pink.

"Hey, watch where you're going!"

"Huh? Oh sor-," Gray froze. He'd bumped straight into Natsu in his stupor.

The fire dragon stepped closer, looking up into Gray's eyes suspiciously. "Gray?"

"Uhh, gift." Gray groaned internally. Smooth. "Here, uhh, someone gave me this to give to you." Holding out the enchanted box, Gray's ice blue eyes averted to the ground. "There's a charm. They told me you wouldn't be able to open it until tomorrow night." And with that, Gray pushed off, walking in a beeline in a random direction away from the fire dragon slayer.

* * *

Natsu blinked several times, rooted in place, looking at the retreating back. That was weird. But, he grinned wolfishly. Christmas present! Shaking it, sniffing it, staring at it intensely, the dragon slayer was enraptured by the shining bright red box.

"Welcome home!" Happy trilled, well, happily, as was his way. He sat at their small plainly chopped unstained wooden table, his white tipped tail bouncing down past the chair's seat.

"I'm home," Natsu replied out of habit more than anything. He slid onto a chair opposite him, staring at the gleaming ruby package he placed on the tabletop.

"What's that?"

Natsu's finger tapped at the table's edge, while he spared a glance at the blue exceed. "Present, don't know what it is."

"O-ohhh, is it a secret?"

"I guess."

"Who's it from?"

"Dunno, Gray just handed it to me, said someone told him to deliver it."

"Ooooo, I bet it's a present of l-l-love."

"Hmmmm." Shaking his head, he took another look at his best friend and smiled.

Between the exceed's tiny blue paws, was a gold satin ribbon. A limp bass lay on the table. Its speckled belly to the side, its scaly brown armour settled flat against its drooped fins.

"For Carla?"

"Yup!" Happy grinned. "She's gunna love it!"

"Do you want help with the bow?"

Shaking his head, Happy pressed the ribbon to his heart and a strange seriousness glinted in his large open eyes. "This is a gift of love! I have to put everything into it I can!"

"I'm sure she's going to appreciate it, little buddy." Natsu patted the cat on the head.

"Why don't you do something for the person you like?"

Natsu cleared his throat a little, his eyes falling back to the wrapped gift boldly challenging him. "Not anyone I feel like that for."

"What about L-L-Lucy?" The exceed asked with childish impudence, his eyes gleaming.

"Not interested."

"Lisanna?"

"Nah, just stop."

"I'm just saying, 'tis the season." Smiling wide, Happy returned his focus to the gold ribbon between his paws.

 _Someone I like?_ Natsu frowned at the wrapped package. Was there someone like that in his life? He cared for everyone in Fairy Tail, loved them all, but was there someone special? Giving a snort, Natsu's eyes narrowed at the red gift. Screw that! What was more important was figuring out what the heck was in this thing!

"I bet it's a fish!" Happy offered cheerily, knowing exactly where is best friend's mind was.

"Not a fish, I'd smell it."

"What do you smell?"

"Just Gray's wintry scent of crushed pine and snow and what smells like a hillside of freshly blooming lavender and sage. That would be Freed. Gray said that it was enchanted so I couldn't open it, probably Freed's doing." Natsu scowled at the present. "Don't know why they bothered, wasn't like I was going to open it."

"Yeah, right."

"Hey, I mean it! It obviously means something to whoever took the time to give it to me. It wouldn't be right to open it without whoever they are around to see it."

"Wow, Natsu." Happy held up a paw over his mouth, very poorly hiding his chuckling grin. "That was very mature."

"Hey, I can be mature!"

"Aye, sir! And you never get motion sick either!" The blue exceed cheekily bounced his head back and forth.

"Huph," Natsu turned back to the gift, burying his chin in his palm, his elbow supported on the edge of the table's lip.

"I bet it's a fish."

In reply Natsu just growled a low throaty irritation.

"Well, if it's not, whoever sent it doesn't know what they're doing! Nothing says love like a big fish!"

* * *

Gray flicked up the collar of his white coat, staring at himself intently in the mirror. Running his fingers through his hair, he pressed back the black spikes shining with gel. Tugging at the cuffs of the coat, Gray double checked that everything about him was as perfect as could be. He glared at his reflection, dissecting his appearance. Did it look like he was trying? Was that a stupid thing anyway? Should he look like he didn't care?

Sighing, he tugged at the collar of the coat again, straightening it another hairsbreadth. What did it really matter, he'd probably end up naked in the middle of the guild hall again anyway, even if it was Christmas evening. Damn, Ur. Giving him this idiotic stripping habit that he just couldn't seem to break. Locking his front door, Gray took in a long draught of the icy winter night air. Pin pricks lanced his lungs. His breath fogged out past his nose. He smiled. Beautiful weather.

The guild hall was as it was every Christmas, crowded, boisterous, and chaotic. It was home. The entire guild, it seemed, had come together for the special night, to share and drink in the memories with their family. Gray even spied Gildarts, shrugging awkwardly, at the bar across the large room, holding a horribly wrapped present in his palm. Cana, for her part, ignored her oddly devoted father and up-ended a barrel. From the looks of it, that wasn't her first barrel of the night either. She should have just been happy the gift hadn't destructed in her father's hand.

"Gray-sama!"

Trying his best to hold back the cringe that accompanied the crash of the rain woman into him, he laughed stupidly, patting her on the back. It was Christmas after all. "How are you, Juvia?"

"Juvia is better now that Gray-sama is here!" She squeezed him tighter between her arms until he was struggling just to breath.

"That's – ugh – nice." The icemake wizard tapped her shoulder, begging her silently to release him before he fainted. Bright explosions started to shoot across his vision.

"Oh, Juvia is sorry!" And with that, she took a slight step back, leaving Gray gasping for air. "Did Juvia take Gray-sama's breath away?" Her hand fluttered over her chest as her face burned brightly. Smiling, she brought up a white wrapped box, icy blue ribbon entwined around it like elegant filigree. "Juvia got Gray-sama a present."

"Ahh, thanks Juvia." Fishing inside his jacket, he pulled out a small box. "This is for you." It was Christmas, after all, Gray repeated to himself. And Juvia was a close friend and a great woman. In a way, he wished he could return her devotion, it would all be simpler then. But, his heart was already owned by another. Natsu sat across the room next to Cana, his chin on the bar.

"Oh my, Juvia doesn't have words!"

Gray snapped back to reality, and offered her a small smile and a pat on the arm. "Merry Christmas." And with that, he dove into the sea of Fairy Tail wizards, most of whom were already drunk off their asses. He spotted the flow of a dark maroon dress in the corner of the room as it darted down around the corner and into the hallway. Tugged behind was a blue haired man wrapped in a dark cloak which flailed out like wings behind him as he was jerked forward. Gray grinned. Erza and Jellal. Love was in the air.

That was when he noticed the green haired swordsman on the second floor. He nodded to Gray as he walked by underneath. Laxus' arm was wrapped protectively around his shoulder, warning off anyone who dared to come to the second floor with dangerous eyes.

Just as Gray walked by them he heard Laxus' gravelly voice carry from up above. " –an't wait to get you home." There was a low growl. "I brought the collar."

Gray stopped, looking up oddly. Collar? He heard Freed's moan, then Laxus' authoritative, dominant rumbling voice again, "remember your safe words right?"

Safe words? Scarlet shot up through Gray's face, burning profusely and he hurried to get out of ear's range from the two. Loke winked to him from a wide table, flashing the classic grin of the cocky lion. His hand trailed down and rested at the small of Lucy's back. She wasn't slapping him? Wasn't hitting him in the head with her drink for advancing on her? Gray blinked. What the hell was going on? Was everyone paired off in their lovers' bonds?

"Merry Christmas, Gray." Mirajane spun around a drunken brawl starting up at the table next to them. The drinks on her serving trailed twisted through the air, landing squarely on Gajeel's spikey head.

"Merry –"

"Alright, who was that!?" Gajeel jumped onto his table and his head swept back and forth, a predator set to find his prey.

Levi stroked his arm, "it was just an accident, calm down."

"Hell with that."

She sighed as a metal arm extended across the room smashing into the table nearest Gray, sending wood splintering through the air. Gray ducked as a chair flew back in response. Pressing his way through the erupting cacophony, Gray breathed a sigh as he finally managed to make it to the bar.

"Manly!" At the corner, Elfman stood, squeezing his titantic muscles tight. Evergreen in stark contrast next to him pursed her lips and crossed her smooth feminine legs. The perfect fairy queen.

Ringing her thumb and index finger between her teeth she let out a sharp screeching whistle. The chaos froze as everyone turned their attention to her. With a smirk, she lowered her gold-framed glasses and turned the rabble into stone. Sliding her glasses up the bridge of her nose, she turned back to the white-haired hulk and placed a palm on his thigh. "Where were we?"

"Manly!"

Shaking his head to the absurd, Gray sidled onto a barstool, inclining his head to the inebriated master sitting on top of the bar. "Merry Christmas, Gramps."

"Merry *hicc* Chr -*hicc* -mas oo, Gray." The pint-sized old man shook as he hiccupped again. His face was a mottled red mess. He hiccupped again and toppled off of the bar.

"Merry Christmas, Natsu."

A grumble was the dragon slayer's only reply. He stared fiercely at the red wrapped gift on the bar's lacquered surface. His chin rested on the curved lip of the bar. Despite his good intentions, and what he had said to Happy, Natsu had tried and failed several times to open the sheenly wrapped gift. The last of which - he had decided to try and light the paper on fire – elicited a sharp shock which still left his hand numb.

Sighing, Gray turned to Mirajane, who had found her way out of the chaos and back behind the bar. Ordering up a tall beer, Gray turned and watched the Fairy Tail guild descend into the night over the lip of a frothing glass.

Gray was slightly too buzzed to realize what the pop that came off the red package on the bar meant, but the fire dragon slayer didn't miss a beat and tore into the wrapping. When the pink haired dragon pulled out a small glass sphere, Gray's world immediately sobered. His breath caught in his chest.

Inside the sphere, a fire danced to its own music, wrapped by gentle winds carrying snow. But not snow, the light they reflected, they were small crystals of ice. They blew soft currents, waving with the thrum of the fire's beat.

Natsu stared at the sphere intensely, holding it reverently in his palm, inches from his nose. "That's so cool!" His toothy grin set Gray's heart thundering. Gray drifted merrily across the clouds as he watched the dragon slayer stare at the dancing flame inside the lacrima. He liked it!

Then Natsu pulled out the envelope and Gray's world froze. How did he forget about the letter? Gods, that poem! Fighting the urge to hide, Gray forced himself to watch his love tear open the white envelope, blank except for a black letters spelling out the dragon slayer's name.

Natsu's brow furrowed as he pulled open the folded paper. Gray couldn't see his face behind the paper as he read it. On a bated breath, Gray stared at the fire dragon slayer with a hope beyond hope.

But then, "what the heck is this!?" Gray's entire world came crashing down. Natsu shook his head, holding up the paper. Lucy and Levi hurried to his side. The smart girl behind the horn-rimmed glasses noticed the sphere on the bar, melding ice and fire into one. She smiled softly. But then, as Natsu waved a paper around in the air, she frowned. Turning, she just caught sight of Gray as the front door shut behind him.

 _Here upon the cold earth,  
_ _As you circle high above  
_ _A dragon untamed,  
_ _A warmth so far away_

 _When I am one among the snow,  
_ _Locked in my wrought cage  
_ _I watch so far away  
_ _As you fly free among the stars,  
_ _A fire through the bay of trees_

 _You may never know  
_ _And though you are the opposite of I  
_ _If only just once find a way to show_

 _I see you celestial_

 _A lion you roar  
_ _An eagle you soar  
_ _Higher than any could reach  
_ _And yet I still look on only to catch a glance  
_ _Of you celestial_

 _The mightiest hunter I watch  
_ _Your bow to bend  
_ _An arrow loosed  
_ _Straight through my heart  
_ _And yet I look on_

 _To see I am no match  
_ _In your heavenly field, you are a god to shine  
_ _But if only just once  
_ _Can you come down and be mine?_

 _From the cold I will wait  
_ _If only just once  
_ _Your flame I will hold  
_ _For you  
_ _Celestial_

Lucy's jaw dropped. "That's beautiful. Levi, don't you think-"

"Yeah, it really is," Levi smiled half-heartedly, painfully aware of Gray's absence.

"It's what I think it is, right?" Natsu stared hard at the two girls, a fiery intensity in his dark green eyes.

"Natsu, who gave this to you? The love they have –" Lucy blinked, Natsu had shoved off from the bar, snatching the paper back.

That was all he needed to hear. Natsu hadn't trusted what he had thought the lines meant, he wasn't good at understanding things like that. He stopped in the middle of the room, and turned his nose to the sky, sniffing for a scent. Then his face lowered, his eyes set on the front door and he dashed forward. But he slid to a stop near the last of the tables, and he spoke to Happy. "Aye, sir!" Came a quick high-pitched reply, before he fluttered back down next to Carla. Snatching a gold bow off a present, Natsu crashed through the main door.

"What was that?"

Levi's smile returned.

Natsu threw himself through snow bluffs, burning away the white powdery blanket around him. His heartbeat crescendoed, pounding in his ears, and coursing fire through his body. He stopped, sniffing the air again, and then turned, trudging down the hill next to the Fairy Tail guild hall. By their old sparring spot, Natsu found him.

The icemake wizard, stood stiffly beside the frozen creek. He jerkily bent and balled the snow at his feet between his palms. It splattered as it hit a far-off tree with a thunk.

The fire dragon slayer bounded into the clearing, snow crunching under his feet. The raven-haired man jumped at the sound, turning to face the wrath of a dragon. But when he looked upon Natsu, it was not rage he saw in those fiery eyes.

Natsu held up the glass sphere in his hand. "This is beautiful."

"Yeah."

Then Natsu raised his other hand, holding up the paper. "This is more beautiful."

Gray swallowed hard, staring at the dragon slayer.

His lips bent in a smile. "Thanks for giving them to me."

"Just delivering them is no big deal."

The corner of Natsu's lip bent higher. "But making them is. Gray, it's beautiful, thank you."

"W-what are you talking about?"

Licking his lips, Natsu took a step closer to the icemake wizard. "Gray, did you know that everything about the present had a couple people's scents on it? The ball had yours and Levi's. The box itself had yours and Freed's. But," Natsu glanced to the paper held firmly in his hand, "inside the sealed envelope was only your scent, Gray." His eyes locked onto Gray's, burning with a deep roiling passion. "Tell me straight, Gray. I'm not good with these poetic words. What does this mean?"

At his sides, Gray's fists balled, and his eyes shot to the snow-covered ground. His shoulders shook. This was the end. So much for small steps. "I-I'm in love with you, Natsu."

A fierce grin upon his lips, Natsu shifted the two symbols of love in his hands to his left. With his right he grabbed Gray's hand. He tugged him out of the clearing, through the trees.

"What are you doing?"

"Taking you with me, obviously."

"Where?"

"My house."

"What?"

Stopping, Natsu spun to face Gray. The moonlight bathed them both in a pure white radiance. Tilting his head to the side, Natsu's fire-filled eyes closed as his lips met Gray's. He pulled back, grinning. "You have to unwrap your gift from me."

It was then Gray noticed the gold bow sitting in Natsu's soft pink hair.

"Woah, hold up. Stop!"

"Nope."

The fire dragon slayer held onto Gray's hand with a burning iron grip, tugging him through the snow in the center of Magnolia.

The icemake wizard dug his heels into the snow, jarring them both to a stop. "What do you mean?"

Fire danced in Natsu's dark forest green eyes as he turned back to grin wolfishly at Gray. "I mean what I said, obviously. Now come on." With that, he gripped Gray's hand even tighter and pulled him with a strong swing of his arm. The ice mage helplessly was dragged to the outskirts of town, blinking dumbly, his mind lost in a thick fog.

The thick oval wooden door slammed shut behind them and just as the latch clicked, Gray was thrown back roughly into the door. Natsu held him, drawing his hot hands down to the raven-haired boy's hips.

"Natsu! Wait!"

The fire dragon's lips crashed with the wintry world. His burning green eyes watched with playful amusement as the shock registered in Gray's beautiful crystal blue eyes, only to slowly melt away.

His eyelids slowly fell over the blue stars, surrendering to the waves of passion washing over him. It drew out his soul, pulling him as an ethereal ghost away from all that was corporal.

Natsu pulled back, separating their lips with a pop. He grinned, breathing hard to fill his aching lungs.

Gray blinked, returning into his body. "Natsu?" The fire dragon just grinned devilishly, his eyes glinting. He lunged back, slamming the intense burning flame of his heart against the cold wintry man. Gray's eyes shot wide as the fiery taste of cinnamon and mulled cider entwined with his tongue, just as Natsu's tongue snaked over his own. He drifted. He felt drunk as Natsu pulled back. Weaving their fingers and locking their palms together, Natsu turned a shoulder and tugged the stumbling Gray with him to his bedroom.

He swung his hand forward, releasing those cold agile fingers and sending Gray flying onto his bed. The icemake wizard sat up, his blue eyes capturing his shock. The sheets crumpled beneath Gray's curling fingers. His chest pounded as he stared at the wild dragon. "Natsu? What are you doing?"

Sinking to the bed on a knee, he swung a leg over the dazed ice wizard, straddling him beneath. "Making you take responsibility."

Gray's brow creased. "Responsibility?"

"Damn right, you can't just make my heart beat like crazy like that and take off! My blood's on fire, Gray, and it's because of your letter."

"What are you saying?"

Natsu growled, "I'm saying, how dare you do something so romantic and spoil me and then not let me a chance to express my own love."

"Your love?" Gray blinked, staring into the burning green eyes locked onto his like a wolf's. What . . . Was this real?

In response, Natsu just dove down, taking Gray's cold lips again and sending their world spiraling together. He sat back, running his hot tongue over his lips. "You taste good." The blush that immediately spread over Gray's cheeks warmed Natsu's heart even more. He wrapped Gray's hand between his and brought them to his vest. "Now are you going to unwrap your Christmas present, or what?"

"My pres . . ." Gray's cheeks burned even hotter, his eyes locking onto the smooth muscular chest visible between Natsu's open vest. His hands trembled. His fingers clasped onto the silky black hem of the fire dragon's vest, but shook too badly. He couldn't find enough strength to move the fabric.

Natsu cocked an eyebrow. He scoffed. "What, is the stripper unable to undress someone else?" He grinned wide in a challenge.

His vest thunked with the floor, fabric on wood.

Natsu growled fiercely, bending over Gray. "That's better. Now how about I-" The dragon slayer blinked dumbly. He was going to say return the favor and take off Gray's shirt, but when his hand trailed up it only found soft smooth skin. "How did you-"

With a smirk, Gray tugged Natsu down, flipping their positions. He straddled the dragon slayer, his bare chest thundering with the wild cadence of his heart. Trailing his fingers across the hills and vales of Natsu's hard, battle-trained, sculpted body, Gray finally allowed himself to except the reality of his situation. "I'm a pro."

 _I'll say_. Natsu's throat went dry, staring up at Gray. The room was dark, the only light coming from the moon shining through his bedside window. It illuminated Gray's svelte body, drawing enticingly to the tapering lines of his torso. It was the body of a man who took care of it, lean, and cut. But at the same time, the X scar stretching across his hip, this man was a fighter. He was beautiful. He was perfect. Natsu threw his head back, his eyes squeezing tight as the icy fingers danced over his burning skin.

Then, he gasped. Gray's lips lightly latched onto his chest, just over his heart. Sucking slightly, he licked at the hot burning skin. Glancing up to capture Natsu's overwhelmed face, he smirked, as he moved slowly down the center of his chest. His tongue drew down his torso, painstakingly slow, savoring the taste of Natsu's body.

Natsu growled. "You freakin' tease!" With a strong grip on Gray's shoulders, he flipped them around again. Staring down at the man under him, Natsu dived down, latching onto Gray's neck. His teeth scraped skin as he sucked hard.

"Ahhh, hssshhh" Gray's teeth clenched. Everything exploded. His vision, the world. They all ignited in flame. "Natsu!"

"That's right." The fire dragon replied softly, releasing Gray's neck. He shifted to the side just enough for the moonlight to outline the darkening skin. With a toothy smile, Natsu sat back on top of Gray, diving deep into his beautiful blue eyes. "You're mine now."

His smile froze for a second, but quickly surrendered to the icemake wizard. His icy hand palmed over his groin. Deep in his throat, Natsu moaned, biting his lip.

"You're hard."

"Hmph, you're one to talk!" Natsu heated his hand grabbing the stiff arousal held down under Gray's tight pants. His fingers trailed down on either side of the pole, before reaching back up to tug at the clasp and zipper. Slightly standing, balancing awkwardly, Natsu let the cold hot man under him slide his pants down and throw them on the floor.

Undoing his belt, he threw his pants off as well before sidling back down over the raven-haired man. Driving his hips down, he grinded against Gray, only their boxer briefs between them. Taking Gray's mouth again, Natsu rocked circles with his groin, rubbing their arousals together through the tight fabric.

"You're so hot."

"You're so damn cold."

"Huh?"

Chuckling, Natsu stole another wintry kiss, enjoying the soft mint and pine tingling his tongue. "And so unbelievably hot." Hooking his fingers under Gray's waistband, he looked back up into those blue eyes, asking permission. When Gray just nodded, a seductive smirk bending his lip, Natsu tugged down the blue cotton boxer briefs, pulling them past his ankles, and sent them flying through the air.

Gray's hands caressed Natsu above him, softly squeezing and massaging through the black boxer briefs he still wore. He ran his fingers over Natsu's inner thighs and smiled up at him. "I love you."

With a fierce growl, Natsu threw off his underwear, crashing back down onto the bed and wrapped his arms around the cold svelte body. He sat back, admiring the subtle play of moonlight across Gray's abs. His eyes flicked up to the blue ice fields locked on him. "Uhh, can I?"

"You better!"

With a chuckle, Natsu doubled over, snaking his tongue between his lips. He hesitated. Staring at the rigid pole, he rolled his tongue over his lips. That was when the scent hit him. It engulfed him, blanketing out all else. It was that same wintry scent, pine and snow, but their was a burning pungent undertone. It drew him in as sure as a flame. Taking a taste, Gray hissed, as Natsu's hot tongue ran up his length. The body under him shuddered. He smirked.

Gray's eyes screwed shut as that burning mouth wrapped around him, swallowing him whole. His head threw back as he felt Natsu's throat. It was hot, almost unbearable, an inferno, and yet, it was beyond pleasure. All too quickly, he felt himself building up. His body tensed. Natsu's hot tongue swirled along his head, sliding back down his shaft. "Natsu!"

Fiery green eyes darted up to his, a smile burning in his irises and he dove down again.

Gray's hands clenched the sheets, his abs tensed. Forcing himself into Natsu's mouth, Gray's jaw opened but didn't manage a sound as his whole body wracked with the flames of Natsu's soul. He crashed back down into the bed, unable to think, unable to feel anything. Everything was a comfortable numbing warmth washing over him.

Natsu sat back, grinning, as he ran a thumb along his bottom lip and then sucked it clean. "Gray can I?"

The icemake wizard nodded lazily, his head still in a haze.

Grabbing a bottle of lube from his drawer, Natsu sat back between Gray's legs. He dribbled the contents over his hand and reached his hand forward. Again, he looked up to Gray who just nodded him on. And so he slid a single finger in.

Gray's back arched as the hot finger entered him.

Natsu worked, paying careful attention to Gray. He wanted this night to be special for him. What he felt in his heart now, he wanted this to be a night to remember, the first night. Sliding in another finger, he let his left hand trail across Gray's thigh until he was ready. Shifting, he stared at Gray. "Ready?"

"Do you know how long I've been waiting!? Bet your ass I'm ready!"

Natsu smirked, "I'd rather bet your ass." And he drove forward, aligning himself with Gray.

Gray hissed, clenching the sheet underneath him as his back arched even higher. Pain lanced across his face.

Natsu immediately frowned, leaning over Gray. He was barely in. "Gray? Are you okay?"

After a few deep breaths, Gray's icy blue eyes opened and he looked at the fire dragon with a grin. "Yeah, just had to get used to it. You're so damn hot! I need more! I need all of you, Natsu!"

Not one to deny the man his heart now beat for, Natsu drove forward. He moaned throatily, feeling Gray all around him. It was tight. It was wonderful. He bent over to lock lips with Gray again and his hips rocked.

The bed creaked beneath them as the beat of their love soon reached a wall-rattling tempo. Natsu pounded into the icemake wizard, growling ferally with each thrust. As his pace increased, flames sputtered over the dragon slayer's skin.

Gray moaned, ravaged by the dragon.

The flames lost all control. Natsu roared, collapsing on top of Gray.

Outside, the snow fell harder, blanketing the night in pure white cold. Snowflakes drifted down past the windowsill next to the fire dragon slayer's bed, catching on the sill and forming small bluffs.

Wrapped in each other's arms, the boys smiled blissfully at each other. The cold never touched them.

Gray rolled over, frowning as he felt something crunch underneath him. He pulled out a flattened gold bow, holding it up to the moonlight. Smiling, he turned to the pink-haired dragon, naked except for his scarf, fit against every crook of his body. "I can't believe you said to unwrap you. Gods, that is so cheesy!"

"Hey!"

"I mean it's got to be the most cliché Christmas thing you could've done!"

"Hmph, well excuse me for not being able to be as romantic as you, you damn poet!"

"Well how about you say it direct then?"

"What?"

"I want to hear you say it."

"I already said it, you droopy-eyed stripper!"

"No you didn't, squinty-eyed idiot!"

"Fine, I love you."

"That was terrible."

"Well that's all you get!

"Come on."

"Okay, fine. Gray, I love you. I don't know why I never realized it, maybe I am an idiot, but I know now. I love you."

"Natsu, will you be my date for New Years?"

"And after."

The two boys, wrapped together in their love, drifted in to a dreamless sleep. The snow piled outside. Atop the bedframe, over the soft snores of the entwined lovers, a glass globe sat. In it, fire and ice embraced eternally.


End file.
